Mat 21:28 But what do you think? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

Mat 21:29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

Mat 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not.

In this parable (or "analogy," which is what "parable" means in Greek), Christ ties together the three aspects of the physical realm, thoughts, actions, and relationships. And beneath it all, the hidden realm of spirit.

Right and wrong flow from relationships, here, the relationships between father and son. Relationships are the basis of feeling and emotion. Feeling lead to thoughts (in this case words), and then thoughts lead to actions.

What feelings cause one son to verbally reject his father's command but later go and do what was asked? The son thinks of himself first, but of his relationship at last. This causes him to act correctly.

The second son thinks of the relationship first, telling his father what he wants to here, but he thinks of himself last, doing what he pleases.

Christ blends several ideas together here. First, his idea of what (and who) comes first and what and who comes after. Remember, Christ said that the first shall be last and the last first.

Here we have two sons, the first (protos) and the second. We also have two choices. The first is a choice about what to say and the second a choice about what to do. The first son says the wrong thing then does the right thing. The second say the right thing and then does wrong thing.

In this story, Christ puts words (the mental world) before action (the physical world). But thoughts change. We are not responsible for every thought we have. We are responsible for the last thought we have, the one that leads to action.

"Think" is dokeô, which means "to expect," "to think," "to suppose," "to have an opinion," "to pretend," "to seem," and "to be reputed."

"Go" is from hupagô, which means "to lead," "to bring under," "to withdraw," "to take from beneath," "to go away," "to retire," and "on with you."

"Work" is from ergazomai, which means "to work," "to labor," "to work at," "to make," "to perform," "to work at," "to cause," and "to practice."

"Repent" is from metamelomai (metamellomai), which means "to feel repentance," "to repent a thing," "to change one's purpose or conduct," and "to feel regret."

"Went" is from aperchomai, which means "go away" and "depart from." It can mean to depart from one place and arrive at another.

Mat 21:27 Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.

At first glance, it may just look like Christ is being difficult here, frustrating the priest. The truth is that in his short statement, Christ is saying something very important about the nature of knowledge. He is saying that how we perceive our physical reality limits what information we can understand. Remember, Christ parses life into the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms. The physical is what we can see. The mental is what we can hear, that is, what can be spoken and put into symbols. These ideas are all in this series of verse, but they are lost in English because the Greek uses three different words that are all translated as "tell" in them.

Original, Christ asks the priest to tell him the source of John's power using the word epo, which means "to speak" or "to say" (from epos, which means "word'). He also uses the term logos, which means both "word" and "logic" to describe what he does. So Christ is asking about their thinking, that is, their mental realm. He is also referring to his work as mental work (not spiritual), that is, bringing the word and a new way of thinking about things. He gives them two choices: heaven or men, the realm of the spirit or the realm relationships. So, did John's authority come from the spirit or from his place in society?

Responding to his question, the priests said that they cannot "tell," but the word translated as "tell" is eido, which means "to see," "to examine," and "to know." In other words, the priests say that they cannot see where John's authority came from. For Christ, this statement limits their viewpoint to the realm of the physical. Their problem is that they cannot see either spirit or relationships, so they have no opinion on them.

In this response, ending the exchange, the word Christ uses another word for refusing to "tell" them where his authority comes from. It is legô, which means "to gather," "to pick up," "to count," "to tell," "to recount," "to say," "to speak," and "to call by name." It doesn't mean speaking, but in the sense of connecting things together, enumerating things, recounting things.

Christ is saying that our mental world depends on our perceptions of the physical world and how it works. Because the priests cannot look at the physical world and see the role that spirit and relationships plays in it, he cannot explain to them the source of the power of his teaching.

Just so you know, Christ teaches that power of knowledge comes from spirit. It is different from physical power, which comes from social positions and relationships.

Mat 21:24 I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I will likewise tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:25 The baptism of John, where was it from? from heaven, or of men?

While Christ addresses this statement to the priests and elders who questioned his teaching, notice how well it fits with his previous statement about God answering our prayers. God gives us the opportunity, but we must take advantage of those opportunities to make our prayers come true. Do our success come from Godor from ourselves?

In using the term, heaven, Christ didn't make this about divine power alone. The term also means "universe." So the question can be taken as a question about the source of one's power in general: Does it come from the universe or from ourselves. It can also be taken as a contrast between power coming from the natural world of God or from the artificial world of society.

"Ask" is from erôtaô, which means "to ask," "to question," and "to ask about." This is the first time Christ uses this term in the Bible.

"Thing" is from the the Greek logos, which means "word," "computation," "reckoning," and "value." It is also "an explanation," "an argument," or "a rule or principle of law." Previously, it has always been translated as "words" when Christ uses it.

"Tell" is from ereô, which means "to say" and "to speak." It also means "weave," meaning making cloth out of threads, as we might say, weave a story.

"Authority" is from exousia, which means "control," "the power of choice," "permission," "the power of authority," "the right of priveledge," "abundance of means," and "abuse of power."


"Do" is from poieô, which has two general meanings of "make" and "do." In the sense of "make" it means "produce," "bring into existence," "bring about," and "cause." In the sense of "do," it means "to act" and "to be effective."

"Heaven" is from ouranos, which is "heaven," "sky," and "the universe."

"Men" is from anthrôpos, which means both "a man" and in the plural (anthropon) "mankind." It is both the term for individuals and a generic term.

Mat 21:22 And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Alternative version: And all that you might go as far as ask for in prayer with confidence, you can take.

This verse is about much more than getting gifts from God. It is about gaining understanding. The meaning is hidden because of the way the word lambanô, which is translated as "receive," when it actually means the opposite, that is, to take. Interestingly enough, it is more often translated as "receive" in the Gospels, which suggests a passive role on our parts in our relationship with God. In the original Greek, Christ seems to be saying something very differently.

First, the verse does NOT say that God gives us everything we ask for. Explaining this has been a problem for generations of preachers, but the meaning is much clearer in the Greek. In Greek, the "all" is tempered by the idea of what might possibly happen and by the depth of our faith in it happening. See below to see what is in the Greek that is actually omitted in English.

Christ is saying that God only gives us the opportunities. We must see and take advantage of those opportunities. The word translated as "take" means both to sieze something and to see something. In the later sense, we might say in English that it is your "take" on a situation or what you take away from a situation.

Christ is saying that our main limitation is our lack of faith. It is our ability to believe that allows us to see. We can see and take as far as our belief lets us.

The activity of prayer is designed both to deepen our belief and to open our eyes to what is possible. God gives us all the opportunities to have our dreams come true. It is only through prayer that we realize what those dreams should be and what our opportunities are. And it is only through prayer that we see how we might take advantage of those opportunities.


"Whatever" is from an, which is a particle that doesn't occur in English, but which indicates something that might occur under the proper fortuitous circumstances.

There is a Greek word that is untranslated after "whatever." It is hosos, which means "as great as," "as much as," and "how much."

"Ask" is from aiteô, which means "to ask," "to demand," "to beg," and "to ask for one's own use."

"Prayer" is from proseuchê, which means both a prayer made in a place of worship and the place of worship itself.

"Believing" is from pisteuô, which means "to trust in," "to rely one," and "to put your faith in" a person.

"Shall recieve" is from lambanô, which means "to take," "to seize," "to catch," "to apprehend with the senses," "to receive," "to accept," and "to conceive."

Mat 21:21 Truly I tell you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this [which is done] to the fig tree, but also if you shall say to this mountain, May you be removed, and be cast into the sea; it shall be done.

The most interesting term here is "doubt," which is from a word that means "to divide." The translation "to doubt" is attributed only to its use in the New Testament. There are a number of Greek words that do mean "doubt" (for example apisitia, apisteô, literally, "without faith") but the term Matthew uses means "divide." In cases such as this, my tendency is to think that Christ really said "divide" and not "doubt."

Christ here is referring to our human tendency to second-guess ourselves and to divide our focus. In general, most people lack the ability to focus on a goal without questioning themselves. Instead, we hedge our bets, make alternative plans and readily accept alternatives. This puts our goals in doubt.

"Faith" is from pistis, which means "confidence," "assurance," "trustworthiness," "credit," "a trust," and "that which give confidence."

"Doubt" is from diakrinô, which means "to separate one from another," "to distringuish," "to decide," and "to separate into elemental parts."

"Be removed" is from aeirô (aero), which means "to lift up," "to raise," "to raise up," "to exalt," "to lift and take away," and "to remove."

Mat 21:19 Let no fruit grow on you [the fig tree] henceforth for ever.

Why would Christ curse a tree simply because it had no fruit on it when he looked for it? On its surface, this is the most self-centered use of power by Christ in the Bible.

However, \there is a clear message here about the physical world. The physical world exist only to support humanity. A plant that fails to produce is doomed. Christ does not see the natural world as existing for its own sake. It exists to support humanity.

"Grow" is from gignomai (ginomai), which means "to become," "to come into being," "to be produced," and "to be."

Mat 21:16 Truly haven't you read that out of the mouths of babes and suckling thou has perfected praise?

In the last verse, Christ makes it clear that prayer is not bargaining with God. This raises the question about what prayer really is?

Here Christ tells us with a word he also uses for the first time in the Gospels. Prayer is the same as a child crying for milk. Like babies, we cry out to God for what we need. And like babies, we do not question what we are given, but accept it gratefully, knowing that God would not give us what is bad for us.

This is the first time that Matthew uses the words translated as "perfected" and "praise" to describe anything Christ said.

The word is translated as "praise," which has come to mean the whole process of giving glory to God, but which originally came from the idea of approving of someone and complementing them on what they have done. It means making recommendations and advise, but ultimately accepting the decision of a superior.

"Perfected" is from katartizô, which means "to adjust," "to put in order," "to restore," "to furnish," "to equip," and "to prepare."

"Praise" is from ainos, which means "praise" and "fame." It is from the verb, aineô, which means "to praise" and "to approve." It means "to be content with" and "to acquiesce in" a decision. It means "to recommend," "to advise," and "to approve."

Mat 21:13 It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.

Since I research new Greek as they appear in the Gospels, it surprised me that this is the first mention of the word "prayer" by Christ in the Gospels. He earlier talks about praying, but doesn't use the word. We have see the term for "house" (oikos) many times, and we have pointed out that it means more than the building. It means the household or clan that lives in the building as well. The term for "prayer" is similar. It means both the act of talking to the divine and the place for it as well. And here Christ is specifically talking about the connection between a place and the connections that take place within it.

The original Greek is more colorful, contrasting the "house of prayer" not just with a "den of theives" but with "a pirate cave." Though those who hate free enterprise use verses like this against the whole philosophy of commerce, Christ is not attacking commerce as such. He is attacking the idea of that our relationship with God is defined by a trade, an exchange.

In other words, Christ is condemning the whole tradition of "sacrifice" as opposed to prayer in our relationship with God. Offering sacrifices to God is too often a form of trade rather than a form of worship. It is form of bargaining with God: if I give God this sacrifice, then I want God to give me what I want in return. Since we cannot bargain with God (a point Christ makes clear in the previous chapter), sacrifice as a form of bargaining is worthless, (poneros) which, of course, is the word that always gets translated as "evil" in the New Testament.

But while bargaining with God is worthless, there is something even worse going on here. The real crime here is coercion. When a priesthood tells believers that they must pay to have the right relationship with God, they are using their position to coerce others. This is the piracy that Christ is attacking here.

For Christ, the relationship between people must be voluntary, arising from a free agreement. Bargaining and trade are both seen as good things among people. What is bad is coercion, that is, threatening people unless they comply to our wishes.

However, between God and humans, bargains are not possible. Trade is not possible. God needs nothing we can offer. The tradition of religious sacrifice always mixed elements of worship and bargaining. Here Christ makes it clear that prayer, that is, seeking guidance and favors from God is not a form of trade, but simply an acceptance of God's control over our world.

"Called" is from kaleô, which means "to call," "to summon," "to be called by a name," and "to name."

"Prayer" is from proseuchê, which means both a prayer made in a place of worship and the place of worship itself.

"Den" is from spêlaion, which means "grotto," "cavern," and "cave." It is the source for our term for exloring caves, "spelunking." It also means "behind the scenes" in a theater.

"Thieves" is from lêistês (lestes), which means "robber" or "pirate."